Yingli Namene Solar eyes top spot in solar business
Yingli Namene Solar West Africa is aiming at becoming the number one company in the provisioning of solar-powered solutions to businesses in the country.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Firmin Nkaleu Ngassam, said Yingli Namene Solar West Africa hoped to achieve this by investing in the right technology, delivering high quality services and products to clients and pioneering innovations in the solar energy business.
He told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in Accra that in spite of being a fairly young company, having been founded in September 2017, the company had successfully executed landmark projects and that had since earned it the trust of businesses in the country.
He mentioned the 400.4 kilowattpeak (kWp) Rooftop installation for the Kasapreko Company Limited’s bottling facility in Tema, the installation of 40kWp solar power systems in three of Stanbic Bank Ghana’s branches and a similar 66 kWp project for PIPPA’S Health Centre in Accra as some of the projects that have so far set the company apart from its peers.
Solar energy today
Mr Ngassam spoke to the paper on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Yingli Namene Solar West Africa for graduate students of the Tuck School of Business at the Darmouth College in New Hampshire in the United States of America (USA).
The students are in the country for an education tour as part of the requirements of their studies.
At the seminar dubbed: ‘Solar Energy Today in Ghana,’ representatives from the Ministry of Energy, the Energy Commission and the Toi en Moi, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), took the students through regulations, policies, prospects and challenges in Ghana’s renewable energy space.
Challenges with policy
Mr Ngassam commended the government for creating the enabling environment through policy and regulation for businesses in the solar energy space to operate.
He said by putting in place the right policy and regulatory framework, Ghana was well positioned to attract more investments into the solar energy business and renewal energy in general.
He, however, noted that the suspension of the net metering code, which allowed private consumers to export their excess electricity into the national grid and use it when they need, was hampering the operations of companies like his.
He was, therefore, hopeful that the ongoing readjustments would be concluded soon to allow for the commencement of the metering system.
Reason for tour
An Associate Director, Logistics and Operations, Mr Miguel D. Ramirez, said “the potential for renewable energy in Ghana is gigantic if you think about the sun that Ghana gets and you think about the demand, not just in Accra and the big cities, but also from the rural areas.”
This, he said, provided exciting times for companies such as Yingli Namene which are into the provision of renewable energy solutions to companies.
He said Ghana would be better off if it could develop mini grid using these potentials to help spur growth and power more homes.
He observed that although there were many prospects, some challenges abound and ,therefore, called for innovative ways to help address the bottlenecks to free investments into the renewable energy space.
About Ynigli Namene
The Yingli Namene Solar Ltd was founded in 2017 with focus on the development, financial structuring, installation and operation of Solar PV projects throughout the European, Middle East and Africa region.
It has offices in London, Munich, Accra and Nairobi.
The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Yingli Namene Solar and provides affordable, clean, high-quality entry-level solar lights to people worldwide that live without access to electricity.